Basketball Matters: Colorado State Duo leading Rams Resurgence

FORT COLLINS – With most sports fans’ attention focused on Tim Tebow or Carmelo Anthony, Colorado State has flown under the radar as one of the better stories in the region.

The basketball program is not just healing under fourth-year head coach Tim Miles, but is showing signs of thriving. And this season, which featured one huge Cancun Governor’s Cup tournament win highlighted by victories over Ole Miss and Southern Miss, he has leaned on the senior duo of Andy Ogide and Travis Franklin to lead the way.

They are the first two players on every opponent’s scouting report, the duo that has to be stopped in order to have a shot at beating the Rams. From Baton Rouge, La. (Franklin) and Marietta, Ga. (Ogide) they are Colorado State’s ‘DSD.’

“Down South Duo,” said Franklin, smiling wide.

Or, Dynamic Scoring Duo. At a combined average of 30 points per game, Ogide and Franklin account for 39.4 percent of the Rams points; and with a combined average of 12.3 rebounds the two account for 36.7 percent of the team’s rebounding output.

If things are getting done these two are more than likely in the middle of it.

“Those two, first off all they play well off of each other,” Miles said. “They’re good kids. They have a strong desire to win and do it the right way. And then their intuitiveness with each other really helps. Andy, in the block, can score it on most people and Travis can drive it through a keyhole. That kid is as good as I’ve seen driving the ball.”

They are a big part of CSU’s 11-4 start, which includes a win in the Mountain West Conference opener on Tuesday over Wyoming. The start is the program’s best in four years.

Ogide and Franklin have been teammates for the last three seasons, and clearly the familiarity has benefitted the chemistry.

“He’s more of a slasher,” said Ogide, who is Colorado State’s leading scorer (15.5 ppg) and rebounder (7.4 rpg). “I like to do most of my damage down low. I can shoot outside when I need to. We just kind of compliment each other with that. I know when to give him his space and he knows when to back off a little bit and give me mine. I think we’ve been good working off of each other.”

“We’ve been playing together for three years now,” Franklin said. “I know where he’s going to be. If I get doubled or when I drive, I know where he’s going to be to kick it out, and vice versa for him. Teams want to key in on both of us and we make it hard for them to double.”

And the attention paid to Ogide and Franklin has made it easier for teammates to find open looks. Wyoming’s attention to the duo resulted in struggles for Franklin but also left open 3-point opportunities for guard Adam Nigon, who took full advantage and knocked down seven of them to nail down the victory.

“We just have better balance than we’ve had in a while,” Ogide said. “We finally have guards in here. Last year we only had one true guard. It makes it a lot harder for teams to double down in the post. We get open shots now, that’s basically the difference.”

If Colorado State can find a consistent defensive mindset it appears to have the tools to be a surprise contender in a top-heavy MWC.

“The conference is as strong as it’s ever been in its short history of 12 years. We want to be a player in that,” Miles said. “Last year we were fifth, but we were 0-9 against the top schools. This year we want to continue to be good against the teams like us, but we need to punch through and beat some of those upper echelon teams to do that.”

In the non-conference, these Rams carved out a fall-behind-and-rally identity, which tests the stress levels of their coaching staff and fans alike, but they’ve shown the resiliency to never give up on a game.

“We were standing there with a standing eight count, many games, and we found a way to come back and win,” Miles said. “Now, I wish we’d keep our hands out so we don’t get punched so hard, but we fought back. We found a resolve to continue to fight back and find a way to win games in different ways. I was happy about that with our guys.”

NBA SCOUT’S TAKE ON: COLORADO F ALEC BURKS
“First time I watched Burks in person what struck me was his tremendous length for the position. I didn’t necessarily notice this as much on film. He’s a solid athlete with a good handle, and combined with his length, this allows him to get his shot off pretty much anywhere and at anytime. He can go wherever he wants to against most college teams thanks to his dribbling ability. He has an uncanny ability to make off balance shots off the bounce. I usually don’t like guys shooting when they aren’t balanced, but he has the ability to make these shots consistently. This is something that really can’t be taught. His scoring ability is legit and should translate to the next level.

One idiosyncrasy I noticed is that he shoots a true jumper from mid-range but more of a set-shot from beyond the arc. I would like his shot to be the same every time. He doesn’t yet have NBA three-point range. He has a tendency to dribble in to charges or turnovers and has to improve in this area. He can be a very good passer when he wants to be, but he sometimes gets tunnel vision and looks only at the rim. He must improve and get more active when the ball isn’t in his hands. He has a tendency to just stand or drift to the perimeter until he receives the ball again. His biggest weakness is his lack of defensive intensity. He often has a “too cool for school” look. When he’s defending on the weak-side away from the ball he often loses sight of the ball or his man and is susceptible to giving up back door lay-ups. This is frustrating to watch because his length and athleticism could make him a great on the ball defender and also a menace in the passing lanes.

As it stands now, I could see him going as high as the late teens or as far back as late first round. Definitely think he’s a first round talent, though.”

BIG NON-CONFERENCE WINS
With conference season starting for everyone in the Front Range, a quick look back at the biggest wins by area schools thus far.

Colorado State 68-61 over Ole Miss – This is the single biggest win of any area team in the non-conference season helped the Rams to the Cancun Governor’s Cup title.
Colorado 78-69 over Indiana – A good win over a still-evolving Indiana team.
UNC 67-53 over Wyoming – Devon Beitzel’s 20 points lifted Bears past an active Wyoming team.

UNSUNG ARRON AFFLALO

As the Nuggets continue to improve their play, winners of four straight, they have done so in part thanks to better defense.

And lately, Arron Afflalo is beginning to remind some of Dahntay Jones, you know, without the harassing, hard fouls. Either way, Nuggets coach George Karl doesn’t want anyone to diminish the importance of what the soft-spoken Afflalo has brought to the team this season.

“I think it’s, for me it’s like a Spartan mentality,” Karl said.

“It doesn’t get the glory. Arron doesn’t get the glory that the scorer’s going to get or the leading player on the offense is going to get. But they’re very valuable. I would say Arron Afflalo is, in my mind, a lot higher priority of one of our top players than most people would think.”

SHARP CUTS: It’s been a dismal start for Jeff Bzdelik, who left the University of Colorado for Wake Forest after last season. His team is 6-8 with four straight losses going into today’s game against High Point and turns the ball over 16.2 times per game. … Xavier Silas, who started his career at CU is third in the nation in scoring so far this season, averaging 24.5 points per game for Ricardo Patton’s Northern Illinois Huskies, who are out to a 4-8 start this season.